United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Pensacola, Fla. – Aubrey Darnell Joseph, Sr., 35, of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, has been indicted in federal court for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charges.

Joseph, Sr. appeared in federal court for his arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Hope Thai Cannon in Pensacola. Trial is scheduled for August 3, 2026, at 8 AM before United States District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers.

If convicted, Joseph faces a minimum 10 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment on each count.

The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. 

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. 

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from multiple agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.